‘Lazarus, come out.’ – John 11:1-45
Fr Mark MHM’s reflection on the resurrection of Lazarus reminds us that we must call ourselves, and each other, from the graves we make ourselves.
As we draw closer to the climax of our Lenten journey, we ought to brace ourselves for a tougher and rougher ride of following Christ in his passion and death. It is important to remember the three pillars of lent – prayer, fasting and almsgiving – and their purposes: healing our relationships with God, self and others respectively.
Healing implies first and foremost a loss, damage or disconnection of something essential that needs to be recreated, reconstructed, renewed or restored. The fifth Sunday’s readings invite us to reflect on death, the ultimate representation of loss, damage or disconnection of relationships.
The one God has helped
Lazarus of Bethany was the only brother of two sisters, Martha and Mary, and a very close friend of Jesus. His death was a big blow to the family and to Jesus, their friend.
There are interesting details in the names Lazarus and Bethany. Lazarus is the Greek/Latin form of the Jewish name Eleazar. The name Eleazar (El meaning ‘God’ and lazor ‘to help’) in Hebrew means ‘the one God has helped’. The name ‘Bethany’ is also from two Hebrew words Beth meaning ‘house of’ and ani meaning ‘the poor’ or ‘affliction’. ‘Bethany’ could therefore be translated as the ‘house of the poor/affliction’.
Located outside the city of Jerusalem, Bethany must have been a poor area, with inhabitants who couldn’t afford life in the city – similar to present day ‘slums’ and all things associated with them: overcrowding, poor sanitation, prostitution and crime.
Jesus loved Bethany and particularly the house of Martha, Mary and Lazarus. It is here John records this last and perhaps most important sign to have taken place, in the ‘house of the poor’ and to Lazarus, one who relies on God’s help; a brother to Martha who, out of her poverty, provided for the material needs of Jesus, such as food and shelter, and Mary who sat at the feet of Jesus to listen to him, wiped his feet with her hair and anointed them with oil.
Their love for Jesus was immense and Jesus’ love for them is evident, he wept with them for the passing of Lazarus. He felt the loss and, moved with compassion, brought Lazarus back to life.
Our losses
We have all suffered losses of different kinds and at different levels. Loss comes with pain that pierces us to the core of our being. It leaves us with questions such as ‘Why me?’, ‘Why now?’, ‘Where is God in all this?’, ‘Why did he allow this to happen?’, ‘What have I done to deserve this?’.
Loss humbles and often humiliates us. It brings us to the Bethany experience of affliction, helplessness and poverty. In loss, we become Lazarus, one in need of help or who is helped by God. And Jesus who knows, understands and shares in our sufferings (Hebrews 4:15-16) is a high priest who is in total solidarity with us. He weeps when we weep, mourns when we mourn and empathises with us to the extent of paying the ultimate price that we may live.
Our Bethanies
In a world engulfed with wars, corruption, greed, racism and extremism that cause deaths of thousands of people daily – mostly innocent children and women – we need to pause and reflect. Christ wept for Lazarus, how much more is he weeping for the thousands that die daily in senseless wars, or preventable causes such as road accidents, treatable diseases and homicides? Martha and Mary grieved the death of their only brother, Lazarus. What about entire families and villages wiped out by drones within seconds? Who grieves for them?
During Lent, we ask ourselves: where are the Bethanies of today and who are the Lazarus’ that cry for help? As Jesus often visited Bethany and lived there, we too must meet the challenge to break down the walls that separate us from our brothers and sisters who need our help. We are called to build bridges that reconnect us and renew our relationships as one human family; to learn or relearn the human and Christian practice of being in solidarity with the afflicted and poor.
Our self-made graves
In times of affliction, Martha and Mary turned to Jesus. Let us too, keep our eyes focused on Christ, who tells us, ‘Take away the stone’, and calls, ‘Lazarus, come out’.
Do we hear the voice of Christ calling us out of our afflictions, our ‘self-made graves’ those society has condemned us to? Jesus is calling us out: challenging us to stop afflicting others and recommit to life.
So, as we look towards Holy Week, we ask ourselves: what is it in our lives, families, communities and world that needs renewal and resurrection? This Holy Week, let’s remove the stones from our lives, families, communities and our world, and let life issue forth.